disparity, since he could fight with Leipzig at his back while the Allies
had to enter combat on a wider front. Four rivers meet at Leipzig and in
1813 they divided the environs into the four points of the compass.
Having destroyed most of the bridges, Napoleon could feel confident that
the main fighting would take place to the east of the city, where a series of
undulating ridges, harbouring many villages and hamlets, protected an
otherwise flat plain; the terrain therefore uniquely combined strong
defensive positions with a battleground where cavalry could be used. It
seemed unlikely that the Allies could work their way round to the marshy
south, so their only other option was to probe around the west or possibly
try to break in via the flat and open north.
0 4Battle of Leipzig
16-18 October 1813
(Positions on the morning of 16 October)- French Army Corps
"""""""' Allied Army Corps